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“Phoenix!”

Daltar’s yell echoed in the docking bay. Dare gritted his teeth and turned.

The trader was brandishing a laser pistol, and aiming it in Dare’s direction. “I want my credits!”

There were gasps from the group of passengers. Dare waved at them. “Move back.”

He turned his head slightly, and saw the young women were wide-eyed while the older couple were clinging to each other. The monk still looked patient, but now the last woman was watching him, her gaze direct.

Stunning, brilliant-blue eyes.

She quickly looked away.

Daltar yelled again. Dare turned his wrist and checked his timepiece. If they took much longer, they’d get off schedule. And that was unacceptable.

He quickly pulled his own laser pistol from his holster and spun.

The laser whined loudly. Daltar gave a shocked cry and slammed into some crates, clutching his shoulder. His pistol clattered on the ground.

Dare stood, arm extended, holding his just-fired weapon.

“Our business is concluded, Daltar.” Dare holstered his pistol. “Now—” he turned back to his passengers “—let’s get aboard. Welcome to the Phoenix Convoy.”

There was a sprinkling of nervous laughter, but the group moved up the ramp.

Dare watched them, and again got a quick glimpse of bright-blue eyes before they were hidden from him.

She’d made a big mistake.

Dakota Jones tugged her oversized coat around her and kept her head down, as she entered the Sky Nomad.

The mistake wasn’t stealing a map to a priceless Terran treasure. Nor was it taking it from a ruthless terrorist group. She fingered the small, blue orb hanging from a chain around her neck. She knew Golden Nova had sent assassins after her. She’d caught a glimpse of them on Nishii Prime, had a close shave with a knife on Rendar, and narrowly escaped a group of them on Grion II.

Stealing the map was maybe not the smartest move…but Dakota loved to take a few risks. If you never took a risk, you stayed stuck. Without some risks, life wasn’t worth living.

Without some risks, you ended up with nothing.

She didn’t plan on having nothing.

No, her biggest mistake was picking the Phoenix Deep-Space Convoy to hide out on.

Yes, they’d take her out into uncharted space, far from Golden Nova’s spies, assassins, and crazy followers. And she’d be a lot closer to the treasure she was determined to find.

But one look at convoy master Dare Phoenix, and her error had become apparent. One look into his silver eyes, and she knew he missed little. And that he liked to be the master of his own domain.

Dare Phoenix was going to be a problem. From the top of his handsome head, to the bottom of his long, lean, hard body. A big problem.

Her fingers curled into a fist. Too bad. Because Dakota Jones liked being in charge as well. No one was master of her or her life.

She suppressed a grimace. She had to stay in disguise and in character. Right now, she was Dena Johns. A plain woman with few prospects, looking for a new life.

Ahead, the passengers were all talking excitedly among themselves. They’d moved into a spacious corridor. At least she hadn’t made a mistake about the ship itself. The Sky Nomad was large and, while not fancy, it looked comfortable. This wasn’t a pleasure cruise, but she knew the cabins were well appointed, and the ship had a top-of-the-line galley, hydroponics system, gym, large cargo areas, and a small but experienced crew. Hell, it even had an arboretum.

Oh, and it had excellent weapons capabilities. In uncharted space, deep-space convoys could face anything: space pirates, hostile aliens, and some things never seen before in civilized space.

The group turned a corner, and Dakota quickened her pace to keep up. Ahead, she saw another tall man waiting for them.

“Hi,” the man said with a smile. “I’m Justyn Phoenix. Welcome.”